The event was won by Greg Murphy for the second time in succession after rivals Mark Skaife and Marcos Ambrose incurred problems that dropped them out of contention.

Preceding this event, Greg Murphy had remained undefeated at this circuit, in terms of qualifying, races and overall round points.

Dean Canto would replace Greg Ritter at Briggs Motorsport, taking over the drive for the remainder of the 2002 season.

Skaife began to set a scorching pace, eventually breaking the track record multiple times over the course of the race.

In taking victory, he became the first driver to defeat Murphy at Pukekohe Park Raceway in a V8 Supercar race.

A concertina effect on the opening lap heading into the hairpin saw Russell Ingall spin Craig Lowndes, sending the 00 Motorsport driver right to the tail end of the pack.

Besnard was forced into the pits early on after his Falcon was stuck in gear and subsequently dropped two laps behind the leaders.

On lap 20, Cameron McLean's right-rear wheel parted company with his car whilst Canto veered off into the runoff area at the hairpin.

By mid-race distance, Glenn Seton spun at turn two, taking out the tyre bundle in the process.

This exposed a sharp bracket that was holding the bundle in place and multiple drivers began to experience punctures.

The damage for Murphy was mitigated thanks to the deployment of another safety car after Besnard hit the wall at Ford Mountain.